Secrets Revealed
by Em Pataki
Summary: Arnold has a plan to reveal his and Helga's relationship to their friends.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Fight Fire With Fire

 _I always knew you loved me Helga, I just didn't want to make you uncomfortable by saying anything._

 _Really Arnold?_

 _You're so amazing! That kiss was amazing! I can't bare to part with you now!_

 _Oh Arnold, I..._ CRIMITY!

Helga fell out of bed, slamming her head on the floor. After a night spent of tossing and turning with her pillow, dreaming she was holding her beloved, she awoke remembering it was the first day of school.

Going through her sad excuse for a closet to find a reasonably clean jumper for school, she thought to herself _I wonder what this year will be like? Was Arnold serious when he kissed me? Was he truly returning my feelings?_

After pondering this and preparing herself in what she considered to be an acceptably appearing way, she headed down the stairs of the beeper emporium. There Miriam was once again passed out on the counter, not that it was any surprise to Helga.

Upon entering what they now had to consider to be there kitchen area, Helga found her mother laying on top of her lunch box. After rolling her eyes, Helga began to shake her fiercely as she scowled "Mom...Mom...MIRIRAM!"

"Huh? Oh I'm awake honey." Miriam said, adjusting her glasses.

Placing her hands on her hips, Helga scoffed "I was trying to get to my lunch that I'm sure you did a lovely job of making as usual...not." Helga muttered to herself.

Why she bothered to bring her lunchbox to school was beyond her, when she knew most days she would be opening it to find nothing...nothing edible that is.

"Oh, umm here you go sweetie. I made it last night." Miriam said, while watching Helga snatch the box in disbelief.

"Pttss...we'll just see about that." she scoffed, making her way out the door.

Once Helga stepped outside of what she wasn't even sure she could consider to be home, she saw her best friend waiting for her. "Hey Pheebs."

"Good morning Helga. Ready for an exciting day of school?"

"It's the first day Pheebs. What could be exciting about it?" Helga scoffed, trying to keep up appearances. While part of her felt this way, her mind was filled with anticipation about how this first day would actually go with Arnold.

"Well, we will be learning new subjects, acquiring new material, discussing matters which…" the Asian girl went on before being harshly interrupted.

"Sheesh Phoebe! What about that is exciting? I mean, who in the right mind would..." Helga scowled before falling to the ground, having her own thoughts interrupted. "ARNOLD!"

Reaching out a hand for her, Arnold replied "Sorry Helga."

Helga hesitated to take his hand. Whipping her head back and forth between their friends, she wondered how awkward it would be to appear vulnerable in front of them. Whether or not she was okay with it, her old habits took over her.

"I mean, watch where you're going football head! Sheesh! Come on Pheebs." Helga insisted, while her best friend quickly followed behind.

The boys stood at the corner a moment, while Gerald simply shook his head at Helga's aggressive behavior. "Mm.. ! Arnold, why do you let her do that to you?"

Not caring to read to much into it, Arnold shrugged his shoulders "I don't know. It's just her way."

"Uh huh? I get being rude and aggressive is HER way. What I mean is, why does being polite and sensitive have to be YOUR way?" Gerald insisted on knowing.

"I'm not going to force her to change Gerald." Arnold sighed, crossing the street with his best friend.

"Really? Because that moment the two of you shared back in San Lorenzo begged to differ." Gerald replied, seeing his best friend begin to blush fiercely.

While the two boys were walking down the halls, Helga was standing by her locker. As she heard them approaching, she hid behind the corner of her door. Whenever she heard her beloved's voice approaching her, she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to listen in on it.

"I'm telling you man! If that girl really does feel something for you...let's pray that she doesn't...you can't let her push you around like this." Gerald insisted.

Helga couldn't help but glare at Gerald's harsh remark about her and his need to push along hers and Arnold's relationship. However, she was anxious to hear what Arnold had to say.

"She's just so hard to reach. I think she acts that way to cover up for her own insecurities. I don't want to make her feel uncomfortable by pushing her along." Arnold sighed, while standing by his locker, a few feet down from Helga's.

"So you're just going to let her continue messing with you?" Gerald concluded, while raising an eyebrow.

Closing his locker, heading down the hallways, Arnold replied "I guess for now."

"Whatever you say Arnold."

After seeing her beloved head off towards the soon to be starting class, Helga fell against her locker, sliding to the floor. Reaching down into her shirt for what she could only hope would someday be Arnold's true heart held close to her, she began to say her regretful sorrows out loud…

 _Oh Arnold! My beloved! Here it is the beginning of a new day for us, and already I have filled your mind with confusion of the drama that it will bring! Who am I to put you through such misery! Such agony which compares to what I have experienced day after day simply by not revealing my softer side to you! If only I could find the strength to show to you the feelings I've already told you! If only I…_

As Helga sat there holding her gold treasure to her chest, reciting her loving words she wasn't sure she would ever be able to summon the strength to publicly reveal, she began to hear a familiar noise "Wheeze...wheeze...wheeze…"

Clenching her fists, she stood up to slam Brainy with her locker door which she had left open to hide behind. Although she hated the fact that he followed her. She needed someone to snap her out of her fantasies.

Once she made it to class, she saw her best friend had saved her a seat beside her. "Hello Helga. I wasn't expecting you to take so long at your locker, so I saved you a seat."

"Thanks Pheebs. I was just…" before Helga could come up with a legitimate excuse, Mr. Simmons walked in.

"Hello Class! I'm happy to once again be sharing another special year with you all." Mr. Simmons waved, while the students all rolled their eyes.

"Pttss...special? Special needs is what this guy should be teaching." Helga scoffed, leaning back in her seat with her arms crossed. Her frown quickly disappeared when she focused her eyes on the blonde boy in front of her. She soon found herself leaning her head against her hand on her desk, gazing at him with loving eyes. Thinking back to their last kiss in San Lorenzo, it took all she could not to swoon.

While this daydream of hers was taking place, another student couldn't help but take notice of her.

Arnold was sitting in his seat, listening to the boring History lecture Mr. Simmons was giving when he heard "Pttss...Pttss...Arnold."

After a minute or so, Arnold looked to his left to see Gerald handing him a note. Thankfully, Mr. Simmons was too wrapped up in what he considered to be his exciting History lecture, to take notice of this.

Arnold opened the note Gerald had passed him to read…

 _Man, Pataki has been staring at you like a lovesick puppy since the beginning of class!_

After reading this, Arnold wondered how embarrassed she may be if he turned around to see her doing it. He hadn't felt any spitballs that morning. Maybe she was in a better mood. He then turned to see she was no longer staring at him, but doodling in her notebook.

While still facing Helga, Arnold glanced over at Gerald, wondering what he was talking about. He then leaned forward further to catch a glance at what Helga was drawing in her notebook.

As he was making this bold move, Helga noticed a football headed shadow forming across her page. She quickly jumped up to scream "ARNOLD!" forgetting they were in class.

The whole class then turned their attention to see Arnold turned around in his desk, facing Helga with her notebook held tight against her chest.

"Umm Arnold. Is there a reason you're facing that way in your desk?" Mr. Simmons asked politely.

"Yeah, I reckon the front of the classroom's that way." Stinky pointed in Mr. Simmons' direction, while the rest of the class laughed.

Arnold turned to sit down in his seat, as he replied "Oh sorry, I just uh...dropped my pencil."

"You dropped your pencil on Helga's desk? Oh please. That is the saddest excuse for flirting I have ever heard." Rhonda couldn't help but tease, while Helga clenched her fist.

"Who asked you Princess?!"

"Alright class, settle down. Let's get back to the lecture." Mr. Simmons insisted, while Arnold hoped not too big a deal would be made out of what had just happened.

Helga sat there in her desk, still holding her notebook tight, thinking to herself _Crimity! What in the heck was he doing?! Did he see anything?!_

After making it through the next few boring lectures, the bell at last rang for lunch. Helga met Phoebe in the cafeteria with what felt like a full lunchbox. She wasn't holding her breath until she saw it with her own two eyes however.

"Hello Helga. Were you speaking to Arnold about something during class?" Phoebe asked, not knowing the reason for the commotion being caused.

"No! I was just minding my own business when the football head decided to hover over me like Brainy does when I'm...uhhh…" Helga began yanking on her collar. Although she trusted Phoebe with her personal feelings, there were still some things she liked to keep private.

"I understand." Phoebe nodded, knowing how uncomfortable the topic made her friend.

After taking a moment to catch her breath, Helga opened her lunchbox to see it was full...but not with food.

"BEEPERS! Are you kidding me?! Is this what Bob plans on using for his storage space for whatever sorry excuse of inventory he has left...my possessions?! Crimity!" Helga scowled.

Normally she wouldn't care about such a poor parental act. After all, she had expected to be disappointed from the moment she grabbed her 'lunch' that morning. However, after listening to Arnold and Gerald's conversation about needing to 'fix her' along with being publicly exposed in class, she was a bit on edge.

After tossing a handful of beepers across the cafeteria to relinquish her anger, the students noticed a perfect shot at an unexpected target followed by an…"Ow! I'm Okay!"

Arnold and Gerald sat at a table with their sandwiches near where Eugene had been hit. When Arnold was about to get up to assist him, he looked in the other direction to see Helga with her arms crossed, hovering over the table.

"What are you staring at Arnold?" Gerald asked, while holding his sandwich.

"I was just wondering if I should go see if Helga's okay? I didn't mean to embarrass her in class." Arnold sighed.

"Forget what happened in class. Look at the commotion she just caused with that handful of outdated merchandise!" Gerald said wittingly.

"I just wish I could help her. I don't want to force her to tell me anything she doesn't want to." Arnold said sadly, before being interrupted.

"Then forget about her and eat. I think she's made it clear she's not going to open up to you unless you're willing to fight fire with fire my friend." Gerald insisted, while Arnold took these words into consideration.

Once lunch period ended, the kids all went back to class. Arnold watched Helga slowly drag her feet alongside Phoebe, with a look that read _why do I even exist?_

He was tempted to pull Helga aside and leave school early. That didn't seem like a very responsible thing to do however. Not to mention there was no telling what type of mixed feelings she was having for him at the moment.

The kids then took their seats in class and Arnold waited for Helga to show any form of attention towards him. A spitball, a rubber band, a kick in the heel, or if he was really lucky...a note. The last few hours went by however, and no such luck occured.

Before he could turn to ask if she was alright, Helga was already talking to Phoebe about meeting at the park after school.

"I notice today was rather tough for you Helga."

"Pttss...ya think?" she scoffed.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Phoebe asked, not wanting to push her best friend.

Helga shrugged her shoulders. It wasn't like she had never spoken to Phoebe about anything personal before. "Eh, I guess we can take a walk in the park if you want. Clear my head a bit."

"That sounds lovely. I'll meet you there." Phoebe said happily.

While Arnold was watching the girls exit the room, he felt a tap on his shoulder. "Ready to go buddy?"

"Actually Gerald, I was thinking about what you said."

"You mean how messed up Pataki is? Yeah, I can see how that would be hard to forget." Gerald said wittingly.

"No, I meant about how the only way to get her to open up to me would be not to let her walk all over me." Arnold reminded him.

"Who cares if she opens up to you? Just stop letting her walk all over you!" Gerald insisted, with his hands on his hips.

"Uhh right. Anyway, I think I'm going to go talk to her. I'll talk to you later." Arnold replied, heading out of the classroom.

"Later man."

As the two boys went their separate ways, Arnold saw Phoebe standing by her locker. Phoebe shut the door to see Arnold anxiously approaching her. "Oh my Arnold! Is everything alright?"

Rubbing his neck nervously, Arnold replied "Uhh actually Phoebe. I couldn't help but overhear you and Helga say you were going to the park."

Nodding politely at him, Phoebe said "Yes. We often do when she hasn't had the best day and needs to talk about things."

Although he was nervous about how things would turn out, Arnold saw this as the perfect opportunity to confront Helga about her feelings. "Oh, well do you think I could meet with her. You know...alone?"

Phoebe smiled at Arnold's modesty. She loved knowing he finally felt for Helga what she hoped he would her whole life. If only Helga could find the courage to accept the idea of it, and allow herself to show it.

"Certainly Arnold. We always meet by the fountain. It shouldn't be long before she arrives" she informed him. Phoebe would have explained it was because the last thing Helga wanted was to hang around her family any longer than she had to. That may have been too much personal information to pass out however.

"Great! Thanks again!" Arnold hurried off, hoping things would go well with Helga.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Let's Talk

While Arnold was approaching the fountain, he came to find Helga already waiting there. _I guess Phoebe was right about her not wanting to stick around her place._

Seeing her standing there impatiently with her hands on her hips, he tapped her on the shoulder from behind.

"Aright Pheebs, let's...ARNOLD!" she exclaimed, not having expected to see him.

"Hey Helga." he blushed, hoping she wouldn't be too upset about everything that had happened that day.

"I mean, what are you doing here football head?!" she scowled, crossing her arms at him.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay." he said softly.

"Pttss...just peachy. Now move it along. I'm waiting for Pheebs." she scoffed, turning away from him.

"Actually, I also came because I told Phoebe I wanted to talk to you...alone." Arnold said hesitantly.

Helga's eyes widened, while she whipped her head back around to ask "Why? Just so you can have another chance to look over my shoulder headboy?!"

Staring at the ground with guilt, he replied "I'm really sorry about that. Gerald said you were looking at me, so I turned around to see, and…"

"Oh so, Geraldo was spying on me too? Perfect!" she scoffed with her arms still crossed.

"We weren't spying on you Helga. I just…"

"Just what?!" she scowled, placing her hands on her hips, leaning towards his face.

"I just wanted to talk to you." Arnold said defensively, not wanting to be blunt about the real reason he was there.

"Well if you're not here to mess with me, what'd you come to talk about?" she insisted on knowing.

Arnold took a seat on the bench by the fountain. He couldn't just say _about taking our relationship to the next level._ She would go running in the opposite direction.

Helga was growing impatient with him, but took notice of the sad look forming on his face. She then took a seat beside him and asked "Are YOU okay? Because you look sadder than Pinkboy when he finishes his lunch."

A slight grin formed on his face as he looked over at his secret admirer. She was so complexing. They both knew the truth about one another's feelings. Why did they have to hide it?

"Speaking of lunch, I saw you didn't exactly have the best one made today." Arnold said, hoping she wouldn't take offense to it.

Helga leaned back against the bench with her arms crossed as she huffed "Yeah well, Miriam's no Martha Stewart! Sheesh!"

Placing a hand on her shoulder, Arnold suggested "Why don't you and I go get something to eat?"

Helga glanced down at Arnold's hand still resting on her shoulder. The simple touch of his hand against her made her entire body tense up. "Uhh eat...with you? I mean, I don't need your charity!"

While giving her his half lidded eyes that she always became so easily lost in, he replied "It's not charity Helga. I just want to spend time with you."

Helga gulped at the sound of this, as she began to feel him start to rub her shoulder. "Well I...guess that would be okay. But nothing cheap! Got it!" she scoffed, as the two of them stood up from the bench.

"Whatever you say Helga." he sighed, just happy she was spending time with him.

The two of them then began leaving the park, trying to think of a place that would be affordable on such short notice. Helga wasn't going to go back to her place for money and Arnold didn't have enough money in his pockets for Chez Paris.

"How about we grab a corndog by the docks?" he suggested.

"Pttss...whatever floats your boat football head." Helga scoffed, while doing her best not to swoon at the idea of her beloved wanting to spend the afternoon with her. Not to mention, alone.

Along the way, Arnold thought to himself _I'm lucky she didn't freak out when I brought up lunch. Maybe that means she won't be too secretive if I go ahead and ask about our relationship._

"Hey Helga." Arnold asked, while watching her turn her face towards him.

"Yeah football head?"

"I was just wondering…" Before Arnold could finish his thoughts, the two turned their heads to hear…

"AHHH! WHY!"

Arnold's head immediately turned towards the screaming while Helga covered her ears to shout "Crimity! What the heck was that?!"

The two then saw Harold and Big Patty standing across the street with the Jolly Olly Man.

"You can't be out of Mr. Fudgeys! You just can't be!" Harold cried, falling to the ground, leaning against the truck.

Helga rolled her eyes with her hands on her hips after seeing what the commotion was about.

"Harold, get up. Stop crying, it's pathetic." Patty insisted, while holding her vanilla ice cream cone.

Arnold and Helga continued watching them from across the street, until Helga finally said "Oh brother! What a dweeb! The guy already has enough Mr. Fudgeys inside him to last until winter!"

Rolling his eyes, Arnold replied "That's not very nice Helga."

"News flash Arnoldo! The truth hurts!" Helga scowled, pointing a finger in his face.

A smile then formed as Arnold listened to these words. Taking her hand, he said "You're right. It's not always easy to hear...or talk about, is it?"

"Doi! Thanks for mindlessly parroting back that information!" she scowled, not realizing where he was going with this.

"If one of your friends needed to talk about something, would you listen to them?" he asked, anxious to see where this would lead.

"If I felt it would be worth my time, then yes." she scoffed.

"What if you needed to talk about something? Would you tell someone what it was about?" Arnold asked hesitantly, while Helga just turned to cock her brow at him.

Before Arnold could push it any further, they made it to the docks. "I'll go grab us some corn dogs."

"Take your time football head." Helga insisted, while she went to take a seat on the edge of the pier.

Sitting on the edge of the pier, she thought to herself _What would make him ask me something like that?_

While Helga was pondering this, she didn't notice the person taking a seat beside her.

"Here's your corndog Helga."

"Sheesh football head! Don't scare me like that!" she jumped.

"Sorry. I thought you heard me coming." Arnold replied, not caring about her anger.

After taking the corndog from him, Helga wasted no time getting started on it. Arnold felt terrible thinking about all the lunch periods she had gone without eating anything. He couldn't imagine how messed up her home life must be at that time.

As she was approaching the end of her stick, Helga turned to hear Arnold say "Hey Helga."

"What is it football head?" she replied with a mouthful.

"You know you can talk to me about anything right?" he assured her, while not having touched his corndog.

"What do you think I'm doing right now?" Helga smirked, throwing her stick into the water.

Rolling his eyes at her witty remark, he replied "I mean about your feelings."

Helga's eyes widened at the sound of this, as she quickly whipped her head towards him. "Feelings? What feelings?"

Before responding, Arnold stopped to think a moment about what he had intended to do. He told Gerald he realized if he wanted Helga to open up, he was going to have to be a bit more aggressive. Since the moment he made it to the park however, he had been nothing but sensitive and defensive. He couldn't continue on like that.

"Helga, enough is enough. I know you have feelings for me, I think I made it clear I have feelings for you. It's a little late to hide the fact that your family doesn't take the best care of you. You don't have to put on the tough girl act for me." Arnold said bluntly, surprised he had found the strength to do so.

Helga on the other hand sat there wide-eyed. She wasn't used to such near demanding words coming from her sweet and sensitive beloved.

After seeing that was all he had, she crossed her arms at him "So what if you know all that stuff about me? Big deal."

"It is a big deal." Arnold insisted, almost glaring at her.

"Pttss...why is that?" she smirked.

Now that Arnold knew approaching her level of aggressiveness was the only chance of reaching her, he wasn't thinking about controlling his patience. That being said, he didn't think twice about his next words.

"Because if you're going to be my girlfriend, you have to be willing to share those types of things with me!"

Dead silence occured between the two of them. Helga's eyes grew wide yet again as she dropped her arms. Arnold began to look away, while rubbing his neck. Eventually, the only sound being heard was the rushing water below them.

"Uhhh I'm sorry. I mean, I don't know if you want that or not. I just assumed…" Arnold began, having a hard time looking at Helga.

 _Did he just call me his girlfriend? Arnold called ME his GIRLFRIEND! Oh my beloved! First a kiss and now this! You're always able to see the good in people...even those who possess as little light as I do!_

"Helga? Are you okay?" he asked, seeing the dazed look on her face. After waving a hand in front of her, she eventually snapped out of her fantasy land.

"Huh? Oh I'm fine." she insisted, hoping to hide her rosy cheeks.

Arnold set aside his corndog, no longer feeling hungry. Seeing the vulnerable state she appeared to be in, he wrapped his arm around her and said "I didn't mean to scare you like that. I just couldn't continue on with this act if we really do care about each other."

Leaning forward, looking down at the water, she sighed "Yeah, yeah, I hear ya."

"So, does that mean you want to be my girlfriend?" Arnold asked anxiously, while feeling Helga's shoulders tense.

"Oh what do you think football head." she scoffed.

Knowing he wasn't going to get a much better response than that, Arnold turned her face towards his. Looking into her sapphire eyes he said "You know you can always tell me anything, Helga."

Arnold could feel her shaking in his arms. The sound of these words made her eyes widen. She didn't like going to anyone just to be pitied. While she was willing to vent her feelings to Phoebe every now and then, that didn't mean she was proud of it.

"Arnold, I..I.." Before she could finish her thoughts, Arnold's soft lips met her quivering ones. He was filled with content about having finally gotten her to open up to him. As he sat there holding her close, feeling her soft face in his hands, mixed feelings were going through Helga's mind…

 _What am I going to do? This means everyone is going to see us together at school! Heck someone maybe watching us right now! Oh my beloved, why must the price for our happiness be so steep?_

After letting go of each other's lips, Arnold could see the petrified look that remained on Helga's face. Picking up her hand, he asked "Is telling everyone about us really that big of a deal?"

Helga gripped him tighter than she meant to, while closing her eyes to reply "It's just...It's..just…"

"What? Tell me?" Arnold insisted, leaning closer.

"You don't have a reputation to protect like I do! No one will make fun of you for being with me! They expect YOU to be nice! If they see me walking into school acting like Little Miss Perfect, we'll never hear the end of it!" Helga scowled, jumping to her feet.

Standing up beside her, Arnold held her hand as he replied "Helga, I won't let anyone treat you that way."

Taking her arm back to cross them, Helga scoffed "Pttss..what can YOU do?"

A wide smile formed on Arnold's face. The whole reason Helga didn't want this secret exposed was her fear of being publicly humiliated. What if there was a way to level the playing field? A way to make sure all their friends had the same chance of being equally humiliated.

"Just leave everything to me." Arnold said eagerly, taking back her hand. Helga didn't know what he could have possibly meant by that. It had been a long day for the two of them however. For the time being, she was just going to take his word for it.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: I Have A Surprise

The next day, Helga was standing by her locker thinking about the time she had spent with Arnold at the docks. So much had happened in so little time. She had gone from waking up that morning, wondering if Arnold had meant anything by their kiss in San Lorenzo to being called his girlfriend!

One thought stood out however _What did he mean when he said 'Just leave everything to me'_?

Helga's thoughts were then interrupted by the bell, and realized she would have to finish them in class. When she made it to the room, she didn't bother to notice no one was sitting in front of her.

"Good morning Helga. How are you this morning?" Phoebe asked, while watching her friend slowly turn towards her.

"Eh, okay I guess. Got some stuff on my mind."

"I see. I hope it doesn't bother you that I let Arnold take my place at the park yesterday." Phoebe asked nervously.

Helga gave a weak smile as she replied "Don't worry about it Pheebs. Where is the football head anyway?"

Before receiving an answer, Helga turned to see Arnold taking a seat at his desk. "Where did you come from football head?" she scoffed.

"I was just passing…" before Arnold could continue explaining, Mr. Simmons entered the room.

"Hello class! I'm sorry for being a few minutes late. I know how anxious you all are to continue our history lecture."

"We are?" Stinky asked confusingly, while Helga smacked her face at his ignorance.

Once the lecture got going, Helga noticed Arnold tapping his feet anxiously. She was curious to know what was going on, but didn't want to cause another scene between the two of them.

 _If I shoot a spitball at him to get his attention, someone is still going to wonder what we're talking about. But he won't stop tapping his feet! Crimity! He's so jittery!_

While Arnold was doing his best to stay calm in his seat, he soon felt a familiar moist tap on the back of his head.

He turned around to see Helga's eyes darting from his face to her hand which was placed to the side of her desk.

Arnold saw her holding a note that she was anxiously motioning for him to grab…

 _Crimity! Hurry and grab the stupid thing before we cause another scene football head!_

Once Arnold had the note in his hand, Helga fell back in her seat, relieved no one had spotted them. While she was taking in this relief, Arnold opened the note to read…

 _What is with you and the shaking! Crimity!_

Helga anxiously awaited a response. She began to become the tense one however, after seeing Arnold had decided to read the note, but not respond.

A few hours later, lunch came and Helga had half a mind to ask why he had blown her off. Then the other half of her remembered how embarrassed they both were to have been caught.

Helga then walked into the cafeteria to take a seat beside her best friend. As Phoebe was opening her lunch with rice and spring rolls, she turned to see Helga hadn't even bothered to bring her lunch box.

Plopping down at the table with her face resting in the palms of her hands and her elbows on the table, Helga listened to her friend ask "Would you like some of my lunch Helga?"

Sighing deeply at her friend's pity, she turned to say "No, I'm okay Pheebs."

"Are you sure? You'll want plenty of energy for the party tonight!" her friend insisted.

Helga began to cock her brow. Before she could ask what Phoebe was talking about, she saw a cup of tapioca pudding being placed in front of her.

Helga turned to see her boyfriend sitting beside her, as she listened to him say "Sorry we didn't get to talk before class started."

"Pttss...yeah, now you can tell me what you were being so jittery about!" she scowled, not caring how weak accepting the dessert from him made her look.

Scratching his head while he watched his girlfriend dig into her dessert, Arnold replied "I invited everyone over to the boarding house tonight to play a game."

"A game? What are we, first graders?" she scoffed, nearly finished with her pudding.

Wishing he could put his hand on hers, he said "No. It's just something to help our relationship."

Helga dropped her spoon, wondering how many people may have heard him say that. Phoebe was the only other person sitting with them, but you never know who else may be listening.

"What's that supposed to mean football head?" she scoffed, leaning back with her arms crossed.

"Just come by my place around five. The party's at six, but that'll give me time to explain everything to you." Arnold smiled, leaving the table to go sit with the boys.

Helga sat there frozen a moment, wondering what he could be up to. What kind of game could possibly help their relationship?

Soon enough, lunch ended and it was time to head back to class. Only this time, Helga was the one who couldn't keep calm in her seat. While Arnold was glad to have told Helga about the event taking place that night, he could hear her nervously tapping her pencil against her desk.

Still tapping her pencil, sweat began to form on her face as Helga thought to herself _Crimity! What type of humiliation will we be facing tonight! Who does he think he is exposing our intimate feelings out of nowhere like this?!_

Her thoughts were then interrupted to see a note being passed back to her. Thankfully, no one cared to pay them any attention, while she quickly snatched it out of his hands.

Helga opened it to read…

 _I promise you'll like the game._

While a lovesick smile came to her face, Helga fell back in her seat with the note held close to her heart.

Arnold had a feeling that did the trick when he no longer heard any nervous pencil tapping for the rest of the afternoon.

When school ended, Arnold was tempted to wait and ask Helga if she'd like to walk home with him. He didn't want to ruin anything by rushing the exposure of their relationship however. He was taking a big enough risk as it was by trusting she would be okay with what he was planning with their friends that night.

As he watched her and Phoebe walk passed him without so much as a wave, he felt a tap on his shoulder. "Oh hey Gerald."

"So tell me about this 'game' tonight. I can't help but feel it has something to do with Pataki." Gerald guessed, raising an eyebrow.

Arnold began to rub the back of his neck as he replied "Well yeah. She's afraid people will make fun of her if she shows she has a soft side by going out with me."

"You're telling me she's worried about being made fun of for dating you? Shouldn't it be the other way around?" Gerald pointed out.

Arnold didn't want to admit it, no matter how much he agreed with Gerald. "Yeah, well I decided a way to get her to open up would be to make everyone share something about themselves tonight."

Shaking his head, Gerald replied "And how are you going to do that?"

"You know how much people like finding out new things about each other." Arnold pointed out.

"If you mean getting dirt to blackmail each other with, then yeah." Gerald corrected him.

"No one would do that if EVERYONE has a secret that was exposed." Arnold insisted, as he stepped out of the class with his best friend.

"You're a bold kid Arnold. A bold kid!" Gerald sighed, while placing a hand on his best friend's shoulder.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Who's Turn Is It?

It was five o'clock on the dot. Helga was standing on Arnold's front stoop, anxious to know what this game was that she was supposedly going to love. Although she and Arnold were now technically considered a couple, the thought of knocking on his door still made her shake.

After tapping what she considered to be loud enough to hear, she heard footsteps on the other side.

As the door opened, Helga screamed after nearly being knocked over by a flock of animals. Doing her best to step back, she ended up falling into the arms of the person who opened the door...Gerald.

"Yuck! Don't get so cozy buster!" she scoffed, dusting herself off after being set down.

"Whatever you say Helga." Gerald shook his head, then turned to his best friend to say "See ya in an hour buddy!"

Watching Helga turn to face him, Arnold couldn't help but say "Well, at least we know Gerald's cool with our relationship."

"Oh don't flatter yourself football head! Who in the right mind would even own this many pets?" Helga scowled, following her boyfriend up the stairs to his bedroom.

"You know I'm not the only person who lives here." he sighed, while opening his bedroom door for her.

"Pttss...whatever! So where's this game I'm supposed to love so much?" she scoffed.

"We can't play the game until everyone arrives." Arnold reminded her, sitting down on his bed.

"Why did you ask me to come an hour early then?" Helga asked, cocking her brow at him.

Motioning for her to sit beside him, he replied "So we could talk."

"Pttss...didn't we do enough of that yesterday?" she scoffed, taking a seat beside him.

Looking at her with the dreamy heartfelt expression she could never resist, Arnold picked up her hand and said "I don't think so. Besides, I missed not being able to hold your hand today."

Helga swooned at the idea of him possessing such intimate feelings for her. Arnold moved closer, resting his nose against hers. While the two preteens were looking deeply into each other's eyes, Arnold could feel Helga's body trembling. As he ran his warm hand up and down her shaking arm, his anxious lips were ready to meet her hesitant ones.

"I'm really glad you came early." he whispered, as he went from moving his warm hands up and down her arms to rubbing her trembling thighs.

"Me..me.. too." Helga stammered, still having a hard time processing what was taking place. As she felt his lips meeting hers, she began to scoff "I better like this game footba…"

Arnold wasn't going to let her false bravado ruin the moment. They both knew how the other truly felt about them.

Their minds were soon taken off the party, when they found themselves laying across the bed wrapped in each other's arms. Arnold laid on top of Helga with his tongue wrapped as tight around hers as her arms were around his neck. At that moment, Helga wasn't concerned about who found out about their relationship. She was too caught up embracing the sweet tasting sensation of her beloved and the warm touch he brought to her heart.

Slowly releasing his lips, Arnold looked down at his beautiful girlfriend and said "I didn't mean to get carried away like that."

Helga fought another swoon she could feel coming on. Looking into his emerald eyes, she replied "Yeah well, don't get used to it bucko!"

"If you're my girlfriend, YOU'LL have to be the one to get used to it." he smiled, pressing his nose against hers. That time there was no fighting it. She let out a sigh that brought a pleasing look to Arnold's face. They could have stayed like that for hours had they not looked over to see it was 5:45.

"People are going to start coming soon Helga." he motioned towards the clock, while still hovering over her.

Helga's eyes widened at the immediate thought of people seeing her in this vulnerable state. "Well move it then! Sheesh! The last thing we need is tall hair boy seeing you with your hands all over me again!"

"Whatever you say Helga." he sighed, backing off of her.

Helga sat with her arms crossed looking away from him, ready to keep up appearances for anyone who maybe walking in on them. She quickly turned to glance over at Arnold to see he was still happily staring at her.

The tension in her arms once again dropped when she felt him place his hand on her shoulder. They had nothing better to do than sit there and stare into each other's eyes. Helga could feel her heart pounding while she could see Arnold was leaning in to kiss her once again. Before their lips could meet, they heard a knock on the door…

KNOCK KNOCK!

Helga quickly scooted away as Arnold said "Come in!"

"Hey Arnold! Ready for the party?" Gerald asked, while entering the room with Phoebe.

Helga sat on the bed looking anxious to find out what was going to happen as she listened to him reply "Yeah. We're just waiting for everyone to arrive."

"What exactly will be taking place tonight?" Phoebe felt the need to ask, as she took a seat beside Helga.

"Pttss ya got me! Football head didn't exactly explain himself like he said he would." she scoffed.

Within the next twenty minutes, everyone had arrived, and all the preteens were sitting in Arnold's room together.

"Thanks for coming everybody!" Arnold exclaimed, as he went to grab something from his desk drawer.

"Shouldn't we be on the roof? I mean that is where you always throw your parties Arnold." Sid pointed out.

While Arnold walked back towards the group with the merchandise he had made for the special occasion, he replied "Actually Sid, this isn't a party."

The gang all looked at each other confusingly until Stinky finally asked "What in the heck are we doin' here then?"

"Playing a game!" Arnold said enthusiastically.

"A game? No offense Arnold, but that is not how cool kids spend their afternoons." Rhonda insisted.

"A game sounds just ever so exciting! What's it called?" Lila asked anxiously.

"Secrets Revealed!" Arnold exclaimed, taking a seat on the bed beside Helga.

Her eyes immediately widened as she sat there thinking to himself _Crimity! This is his way of getting our immature friends to graciously accept our delicate situation? Just bluntly revealing our relationship on some stupid self-made monopoly card!_

"Wow! Secrets! I haven't been this excited since I OW...I'm okay." Eugene insisted, after tripping over the chair at the computer desk.

"Yeah, well here's how it works." Arnold began explaining while Helga could have cared less about the instructions. All she cared about was making sure she didn't end up being the most humiliated person to leave the house that night.

"There is food involved right? If I tell you my secret, do I get to eat?" Harold asked anxiously, not caring what anyone thought of him.

"Harold! We did not come here to eat." Rhonda sighed, while the rest of the group looked at each other.

"Actually, I figured there would snacks. I mean, there usually are at a party." Sid replied.

 _Oh brother! What a bunch of dweebs!_ Helga held her head in her hand. Her biggest secret was on the verge of being revealed to a bunch of freaks who only considered love to be something pertaining to food and fashion.

"I've got a bag of candy right here to pass out." Arnold said excitedly, knowing he would need a way to motivate his friends to play a game such as this.

"Alright!" Harold exclaimed, interrupting once again.

"Anyway, we draw numbers to see who goes first. When it's your turn, you spin to see who you ask a question. If they answer, they get a piece of candy. We'll play until the candy is gone." Arnold explained, while Helga gripped his bed tightly. Her shoulders grew tense while she could feel sweat forming on her face. _How could he do this to me? To US?! Stupid football head!_

"I reckon it don't sound to bad. I think Gin Rummy would have been better." Sinky said, reaching into the bag for a number.

After everyone had drawn their numbers, the Arnold was anxious to jump to the end just to see if his plan would turn out like he had hoped.

"Okay Stinky, you're first." Arnold said.

Stinky spun the arrow to see it land on Rhonda.

 _Pttss...this ought to be good!_ Helga thought to herself.

"Hmm...Is it true about your ears bein' crooked? Cuz back when you were glasses, those things were always tiltin'?" Stinky couldn't help but ask, while Rhonda began to blush fiercely.

"Oh please! I simply switched to contacts because….because….no one made glasses nice enough to match my Preteen Miss outfits." Rhonda insisted, while snatching the candy.

"Well, alright then. Here ya go." Stinky replied.

"Who's next?" Arnold smiled, liking the way things were going. Helga had yet to relax however.

"I believe I drew the following number." Phoebe informed them, reaching for the spinner to see it land on Nadine.

Intrigued by Nadine's lifestyle, Phoebe asked "I find it rather fascinating you collect so many different types of bugs. How many have you found?"

Although Helga thought fondly of her best friend, she sat there thinking to herself _Come on Pheebs, what kind of secretive question is that?_

"Well, there aren't too many around here, but when we went to San Lorenzo I found at least 20 different types." Nadine assured her, before Rhonda butted in.

"I must say, it was disgusting!"

Arnold was enjoying how open everyone was being, but wasn't sure if these easy questions would be enough to make Helga open up in front of everyone. "Who's got number three?"

"I do man!" Gerald exclaimed, as if he was excited about the game. Perhaps he was just curious to see if his best friend's plan to get Helga to open up would work.

"Sheena. I have to ask man, did you and Eugene take dance lessons together? I mean you're always prancing around the playground step by step together." Gerald insisted on knowing.

"Gosh, I'm flattered you noticed. No we didn't take lessons. We just enjoy spending time together." Sheena replied happily, not at all concerned about anyone's opinion of them.

 _What a bunch of geeks!_ Helga sat there, rolling her eyes.

The next person to go was Harold. Reaching for the bag of candy, Arnold stopped him to say "Uhh Harold, you're supposed to ask someone a question. If someone asks you one, then you get a piece of candy."

"Aww gee!" Harold then spun the spinner to see it land on Sid.

"Okay Sid, is it true you like french-kissing frogs?"

While Rhonda covered her mouth in disgust, Sid eagerly answered "Yeah! Frogs are the coolest! I wish I had Sydney here to show you!"

 _Makes me french kissing Arnold not seem like such a big deal_ Helga laughed to herself.

The group held awkward expression on their faces while the next person reached for the spinner.

"I think it's my turn guys!" Eugene insisted, while Helga sat there rolling her eyes. _Yeah, who would have guessed five would come after four._

The group watched to see the spinner land on Lila. "Gosh, I'm just ever so excited to hear your question Eugene."

"Well, I've been wanting to know, why did you back out of the Romeo and Juliet play. I mean, you seemed perfect for the part!" he exclaimed.

Helga's eyes widened as Arnold could feel her moving the mattress on the bed with nervousness. He placed his hand on hers hoping to calm her down, but she quickly pulled it away from him.

 _If she tells them, I'll strangle her with my bare hands!_ Helga thought to herself, remembering those exact words she had said to Lila the day she was given the part.

"Hmm...I'm just ever so certain it wasn't for me. Helga was a much better fit." Lila said, smiling over at Helga.

A deep sigh of relief released from Helga, as she slightly loosened her grip on the mattress.

"Well, guess I've got the next number." Sid said, spinning the arrow to see it land on Gerald.

"My man Sid. Whatcha got for me?" Gerald asked keeping his cool.

"Uhh let's see. Oh I know! What was up with your voice during that Moonlight Bay performance?" Sid asked anxiously.

Rolling his eyes, Gerald replied "After the doctor removed my tonsils, my voice just took longer to heal than he said it would."

"Huh? Why didn't you just wait until after the performance to do it then?" Sid wondered before being interrupted…

"Hey! No fair! He can't have more questions and more candy!" Harold screamed, while the room rolled their eyes.

"The doctor said it wouldn't take as long as it did for me to get better." Gerald sighed.

"Alright who's next?" Arnold asked, trying to move the game along.

"Me!" Sheena said anxiously spinning it to see it land on Phoebe.

"I've been wondering why you didn't read your original poem at the assembly a few years ago. The 'I hear your name' poem was lovely. You ended up reading a different one on stage though?" Sheena wondered.

Phoebe began to blush while Helga once again felt sweat forming on her face. Phoebe didn't want to reveal she had cheated, not to mention having a good idea of who wrote the poem she ended up reading at the assembly. Everyone was revealing their secrets however. It was only fair she did too.

"I regret to inform you Sheena, the 'I hear your name' poem was not mine. Rather, one I copied from a book. I confessed to Mr. Simmons shortly before the assembly began." Phoebe explained, lowering her head to the floor.

Helga once again released a sigh of relief. None of her personal information had been revealed.

After a moment of awkward silence, finding it unbelievable Phoebe would do such a thing, Nadine reached for the spinner.

"Let's see...Harold!"

"Alright! Candy!" Harold exclaimed, before being stopped.

"I get to ask you a question first." she pointed out, while seeing him cross his arms.

"Aww gee! Well hurry up so I can eat!"

"Have you ever tried making bugs part of your diet? A great source of protein comes from them!" Nadine suggested, while Helga rolled her eyes at the easy question.

"Why would I want to do a gross thing like that?!" Harold asked, snatching the candy.

Not receiving a response, the next person took the spinner.

"I believe it's my turn, and I'm looking just ever so forward to it!" Lila exclaimed, while spinning it.

The arrow then turned to land on Helga. Helga began to tremble intensely. Arnold wanted to comfort her, but didn't want to upset her. She had already taken her hand away from him.

"Let's see Helga…" Lila began, knowing about Helga's secret, which she had promised to keep.

Helga gulped loudly, until she heard the question. "Did you arrange for Olga to be my sister in the Big Sis - Little Sis program? Because it was just ever so nice!"

Forgetting for a moment about Arnold, Helga rolled her eyes at the sound of her sister's name and said "Trust me, I had nothing to do with it."

"Guess it's my turn!" Arnold said anxiously, wondering if it would land on Helga again. Although he wanted to ask how she felt about him in front of everyone, he didn't want her to hate him.

"Eugene…" he pointed to the clumsy boy, while seeing his eyes light up.

""Eugene, what was it you were allergic to that made you...uhh...expand on the trip to San Lorenzo?" Arnold couldn't help but ask.

"Oh that was the pattaya fish! It was so delicious! And I didn't even mind the reaction because I just loved being rolled around and bounced on. You guys are the best!" Eugene said optimistically while the group raised their eyebrows at him.

 _Oh brother! What a loser!_ Helga thought to herself, not realising it was her turn.

"Well, here you go Helga." Arnold said, eagerly handing her the spinner.

"Huh? Oh thanks." _Don't land on Arnold...don't land on Arnold...don't land on Arnold…_

"Stinky." Helga scoffed, while inside she was sighing with relief.

"I reckon you get to ask me anything you want Helga." Stinky pointed out, while Helga began to cock her brow.

"Okay, well not that it matters, but where in the heck did you learn grammar? I mean crimity! We all take the same class?" she scoffed.

"Here I s'pose. It's just my simple country folk accent that makes it sound interesting." he explained, while seeing her roll her eyes.

 _Oh yeah, real interesting._

"Guess it's your turn Rhonda." Arnold pointed out, while handing her the spinner.

"Finally! I'll make sure to ask a rather creative question to make up for my having to go last." she informed them.

Helga was both petrified and annoyed. Rhonda always had to show off, and she did so by looking for ways to make other people look bad.

"Arnold! Oh this will be good." Rhonda smiled while Helga's heart stopped. She knew what was coming…

"What's your question Rhonda?" he asked, sitting there with an anxious smile on his face.

"Do you have a crush on anyone?" Rhonda didn't hesitate to ask with an enticing smile on her face.

The group all turned to look at Arnold while Helga's face remained frozen on them. She didn't know what his answer would be.

"Well, yeah actually." he said, scratching his head.

Gerald and Phoebe turned in Helga's direction, noticing how tense she was. Just as Phoebe was about to suggest ending the game, Rhonda continued…

"Well, who is it?"

Gerald turned to look at Arnold, wondering if his best friend was having second thoughts about his plan to reveal his personal information to the group.

"It's someone we all know." he replied, feeling as nervous as Helga.

"That part was obvious. I'm wanting to know WHO?" Rhonda demanded, before being interrupted.

"Hey! Why does she get a chance for more candy?!" Harold exclaimed.

"Oh just take the bag for crying out loud! Sheesh!" Helga scowled, throwing it across the room in his face.

"Well we know it's not Helga." Sid said, while she turned to glare at him.

Arnold then wrapped his arm around her, hoping to release the tension that had been building up inside her throughout the game. "Yeah, it is Sid. She's my girlfriend."

Helga's wide eyes shot around the room at everyone else's judgemental ones. She was tempted to push him off her in denial until she felt him press his soft lips against her cheek. While she could feel them turning red, her eyes began to fall into one of her dazed looks that only he could bring to them.

"Wait? Is this part of the game, or are you two serious?" Harold asked, while eating the candy.

Helga rolled her eyes at his ignorance. "What do you think Pinkboy?!"

"I reckon it's not too strange. I mean, she and I dated for awhile back in fourth grade." Stinky pointed out, while Helga threw her hands into her face.

"Wait, what?" Arnold asked, turning his face towards Helga.

"Don't ask football head!" she scowled.

"Well, I've had my fun for the night. I suppose I better be going." Rhonda insisted, happy to have humiliated Helga in some way.

"Can I take the candy with me?" Harold asked, having made it near the end of the bag.

"Uhh sure Harold." Arnold replied, happy not too much chaos had occured that night.

"Thank you just ever so much for inviting me!" Lila thanked them, while everyone headed out the door.

Arnold closed it behind them to see Helga still sitting on his bed, quietly twiddling her thumbs. He sat down beside her with his arm around her once again. "I'm sorry if I was out of line doing that. I just wanted everyone to know about us without causing a big scene at school."

"Pttss...well there was a scene...just not at school." she scoffed, hoping to point out his flaw.

Arnold began scratching his head as he replied "I know, but you have to admit, they got over it quick. I mean, no one seemed to care."

Rolling her eyes at him, she replied "Yeah, yeah, you're right. Well, I guess I'm out of here."

"You don't have to leave. Besides, we never got to finish what we started when you came." he said, winking at her.

"Oh zip it Arno…" she began pushing him aside, only for him to grab her hand and pull her close to kiss her. Wrapping his tongue around hers tightly, he laid down on top of her with his warm skin pressed against her trembling body.

Slowly releasing his lips, he whispered to her "I'm so glad everyone knows about us now."

After letting out a swoon, she shook her head best as she could with him being that near to say "Yeah well, don't expect me to be nice to you at school."

"Whatever you say Helga." he replied, setting his lips on hers once again, knowing how sweet she really was.


End file.
